


All Along the Watchtower

by Queen__Queer



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid, Nightmare Time - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forever and Always, Gen, Gore, Jane's a Car, Nightmare Time Spoilers, Nightmares, Psychological Torture, Secrets, Time Bastard, Witch in the Web, i proof read once, im trying with this one i promise, it wont be as unrelentlesly angsty as the last fic, mostly at the end of the story and not for long, nightmare time, someones gonna be mentioned as aro, spoilers for nightmare time, you get to guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27667889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen__Queer/pseuds/Queen__Queer
Summary: Strange dreams plague citizens of Hatchetfield. Within those dreams lies a pull, a switch that suddenly went off. Once that switch has gone off they find themselves unable to turn it off. Soon, however, the strange yet unassuming dreams became far more disturbing and far more vivid. And as the dreams become more difficult to ignore so too does the pull in their chest, eventually forcing them to follow the pull until they are left no choice but to try and answer a few questions.Why are they here?How are they here?What does it mean?
Relationships: Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Bill & Paul Matthews, Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Lex Foster & John McNamara, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews & Linda Monroe, Paul Matthews & Ted, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins, Tim Houston & Tom Houston, Tom Houston & Emma Perkins
Comments: 9
Kudos: 26





	1. A Very Normal Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a very normal day. The most normal day one could have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a lot of MAJOR spoilers for all three episodes of Nightmare Time. This first chapter only has one tiny spoiler for episode three but believe me it will get into heavy spoiler territory very very quickly.

It was a cool Monday morning in early March. Paul walked to work like normal and did his best to avoid the Greenpeace girl who insisted on trying to guilt trip him each and every day. He got by without having to talk to her and got to the CCRP office right on time as intended. He gave Melissa a quick wave and hello as he passed her on his way to his cubicle. He took a seat and started to boot up his computer.

“Morning, Paul,” Bill said as he passed.

“Good morning, Bill,” Paul responded, sitting back to wait for the old computer to start.

“You do anything fun this weekend?” Bill took his seat in the cubicle beside Paul’s.

“Nope, same as normal. Did you do anything?” The computer finally turned on and Paul signed in.

“I called Alice, tried to catch up on how she’s been at college.” Bill’s tone became less jovial than before. Paul finally got to start his work as the desktop finally loaded and he asked, “How did that go?”

“Well,” Bill started, “you know how Alice is. She adjusted well, her roommate’s nice. She didn’t say much about how school is which is fine but,” Bill took a breath as he got started on work, “I just wish she’d talk to me more. She doesn’t answer a lot of my phone calls and when she does they’re always short.”

Paul knit his eyebrows and glanced over from his computer, “I’m sorry, Bill.”

“Oh it’s fine,” some cheer came back to his voice as he said, “I’m just hoping I can convince her to come home for spring break. She stayed on campus for Christmas but I’m sure I can get her to come back for a week.”

“I’m sure you can.” Silence fell over them until Paul heard footsteps that were unmistakably Ted’s. He grimaced. Ted stopped at Paul’s cubicle and threw his arm over the side and said, “Morning, Paul.”

“Morning, Ted,” Paul said quickly as he already wished the conversation was over.

“Do anything,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “fun this weekend?” He had a stupid, lopsided, and creepy smile on his face, though Ted’s entire demeanor was creepy on a constant basis so adding creepy didn’t contribute much to Ted’s description. But that's besides the point.

“God, Ted, no, gross.”

Ted pushed off of the cubicle wall, “I’m just fucking with you man,” he points to Paul as he walks away, “besides, I’d be able to tell.”

Paul turned back to his computer and muttered, “Not what I wanted to deal with this morning.” Despite the peace of the morning being interrupted by Ted’s asking about his sex life, Paul fell into the groove of work as normal. He kept that groove for the next few hours until he noticed his morning dose of caffeine waning. Paul stood and stretched, “I’m heading to Beanie’s. You want anything, Bill?”

“Hm?” Bill looked over, “Oh, uh, caramel frap.”

Paul gave a nod, “You got it, Bill.”

“Thanks, Paul.” Bill turned back to his computer. Paul walked past his coworkers and turned the corner only to nearly bump straight into Ted. Paul let out a sound of shock, “Hey Ted.”

“Hey, Paul. Going to Beanie’s?”

“Yeah, Ted, wanna come?”

“Yup,” Ted said, popping the ‘p’ and shifting a stack of papers from one arm to the other, “I need to drop these off with Melissa on the way anyway.”

“Sounds perfect,” Paul responded through gritted teeth. The two walked together towards the front where Ted dropped the stack of papers on Melissa’s desk and gave her a wink as he did so to which he got an eye roll from Melissa as a response.

They left the office and walked in what was an awkward silence for Paul, and a comfortable silence for Ted. The bell jingled as Paul opened the door to the coffee shop. Emma looked up and smiled when she saw Paul and then her smile faltered when she noticed Ted.

“Hey, Paul, same as usual?” Emma asked, leaning on the counter.

“Of course, and a caramel frap for Bill,” Paul mimmiks Emma and leans on the counter. He quickly planted a swift kiss on her forehead which caused Emma to push away from the counter with a giggle and a mutter of, “Dork. And what about you?” She asked Ted.

“Chai ice tea, and uh, is that lil’ barista back there?” Ted laid an arm on the counter. Emma sighed and took a few steps back. She pushed open the door to the backroom and called out, “Zoey, _he’s_ here again.” The door closed with a small slam and Emma got to making their drinks. A moment later Zoey walked out. She went beside the counter and leaned on the wall. She pulled out her phone and in a monotone voice said, “Hey, Ted.”

And just like that, the flirting started. Paul and Emma chatted as she made the drinks. Soon the two parted and Paul pulled Ted away from his awkward and creepy attempts at flirting with Zoey to return back to work.

\---

Lex had an elbow propped up against the register of Toy Zone. Opposite of Lex, Ethan had his weight against the back of another register counter.

“So he’s working you to death?” Ethan asked as he spun his car keys repeatedly around his finger.

“A few hours of overtime and some extra shifts won’t kill me, Ethan, the pay’ll be nice too. I just need you to watch Hannah next week. Her school’s taking off and I’ve got work and you’ve got a much more flexible work schedule than I do. And-” a customer walked through the automatic doors, Lex put on a smile and looked over to a man with long hair and a trenchcoat, “Hi, welcome to Toy Zone, let me know if you need any help!” The man speed walked past her without acknowledging her. She dropped the smile and looked back at Ethan, “I’d much rather her be with you all week than at home with mom.”

Ethan sighed, “Yeah, I’ll watch her next week, don’t worry.” He lowered his voice, “We’ll get you two out of here, babe. An’ hey,” he took a step forward and put a hand under Lex’s chin, tilting her face up to look at his, “just a few more months, we can be out by summer.”

Lex smiled, “Thanks.” The two stared into each other’s eyes for a moment longer. Lex gave Ethan a quick kiss and the two each took a step back at the same time. “Alright get out of here before Frank comes and yells at us again.”

Ethan shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, “Like I give a damn what your boss thinks.”

She laughed, “You may not care but _I’m_ the one working for him and I don’t want him to be pissed at me right before I get a bunch of overtime.”

“Fine, fine. See ya later, Lex.”

“Bye, Eth- And you’re picking up Hannah today, right?”

He was already making his way to the exit. He turned on his heels and walked backwards as he said, “It’s Monday, of course I am! I wouldn’t forget about her.”

“You did that one week,” she replied with a smirk.

“That was _one time!_ You can’t hold that against me forever!”

The automatic doors slid open as Lex called out, “I can and I wi-” only to be cut off again as the doors closed behind Ethan. He headed to his car and went back to swinging his car keys around his finger. He slid into his car and slammed the door behind him. He drummed his fingers on the wheel as he started the car and pulled out of the parking spot. He popped open the glove box and grabbed a cassette tape, shoving it into the player as he drove to his dad’s garage for the day.

\---

Ethan pulled up to Hannah’s school at precisely 3:07pm, seven minutes after school had ended or fashionably late as he liked to call it. He rolled down the passenger window and leaned over to call out to Hannah who was sitting on the small set of concrete stairs leading up to the entrance, most of the kids had either gotten picked up or started to walk home but many were still there, “Hey, Banana!” He opened the passenger-side door and Hannah jumped up from where she sat. She dropped herself into the chair and put her backpack down by her feet. She closed the door behind her and Ethan shifted the car to drive.

“Good day or bad day, Banana?” He asked as they drove off.

Hannah shrugged, “Weird day.”

“What’s that mean?”

She shrugged again, “Just weird.”

“Aight, ‘s long as it’s not a bad day. Got homework?”

She nodded, “A lil’”

“Well I’m no scholar but my pops might be able to help with the harder ones if I or Google can’t.”

She gave another nod. The rest of the drive was in silence. Ethan pulled up to the garage a few minutes later. Hannah jumped out of the car and Ethan locked the car once both were out. 

“‘M back, dad! Brought Hannah!”

Tony Green slid out from underneath a car he was working on, “Hey, kid,” he called out, “we got chocolate milk in the fridge if ya’d like it. Take what you’d like, mi casa su casa an’ all that.”

“Thanks, Mr. Green,” Hannah said.

“Anytime, Hann.” He slid back under the car. Ethan leaned against his car and asked his dad, “You gonna need any more help today?”

“Nah, nah, I’ve got it from here.”

Ethan pushed off the car and walked to the door with Hannah right behind him, “Gimme a shout if you do, pops.”

Tony made a sound of recognition as Ethan pushed open the door and held it for Hannah. The two walked in and the door swung closed behind them. Hannah made her way behind the small counter and up the stairs behind it to the apartment over the shop. Hannah reached the top of the stairs and pushed open the door. She plopped herself down on the couch, dropping her backpack by her feet meanwhile Ethan dropped his car keys in a bowl by the door before he joined her on the couch. Etham threw his arms over the back of the sofa and kicked his legs up onto the coffee table. Hannah grabbed a notebook from her back and set it down. She got started on her homework right away.

Ethan scrolled mindlessly on his phone, glancing over at Hannah every so often. He smiled as he watched, feeling a sense of an almost fatherly type pride at Hannah’s initiative, something he sorely lacked in school. He shook off the slight feeling of remorse over his unfinished high schooling when he was asked to help with one of Hannah’s homework questions. He did his best to help (mostly aided by Google) and the afternoon continued in silence aside from the occasional question or brief remark.

Once Hannah had finished her homework and put the books away she leaned against the arm of the couch that was not now occupied by one of Ethan’s legs thrown over it. She had a contemplative and confused look on her face which prompted Ethan to cock his head to the side and ask, “What’s shakin’, Banana?”

“Wrong memories,” she replied in the same tone one uses when thinking out loud.

Ethan sat up a bit, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Webby, she’s saying, ‘wrong memories’.”

“Ah, the space spider Webby, right?”

Hannah nodded, “She’s been saying it all day.”

“What else she sayin’?”

“Wrong memories, old friend, beacon.”

“Any idea what it means?”

She shook her head again.

“Well if your magic spider ain’t telling you anything more, I’m sure it’s nothing big.”

She nodded, unconvinced. A moment later Ethan’s dad called out from outside, “Eth, Lex is here for Hannah!”

“Looks like that’s your cue,” the two stood and Ethan picked up and handed Hannah her bag. He held the door and they walked downstairs. Lex was making small talk with Tony and stopped when she saw Hannah. She smiled and asked, “How’s your day, Hannah?”

She shrugged, “Fine.”

“Get your homework done?”

She gave a small smile and nodded, “Mhm!”

“How about we get on home then before it gets too dark.” Lex put her arm around Hannah and looked to the others, “Thank you both.”

“Not a prob, babe,” Ethan replied as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“We’re happy to have either of you over any time. Have a safe night, girls.”

“We will, thank you Mr. Green.” 

“Told you to call me Tony. G’night!”

Lex and Hannah turned and walked down the driveway. Hannah waved back towards Ethan and his father.

\---

Paul set his alarm for the morning and shot Emma a quick goodnight text. He placed his phone on the nightstand and turned on the lamp before crossing the room and turning off the main light. He sat on his bed as his phone buzzed with a notification. He checked it,

_Emma: night dork_

He smiled and plugged in the charger, placing the phone back on the nightstand and turning off the lamp. He slipped into unconsciousness quickly. 

_Paul was at work. The lights were out, a few flickering, and no one else was there. Aside from those few details there wasn’t much different about the office. That was, of course, ignoring the bright blue, almost luminescent splatters across the walls and floor. The splatters appeared to lead in any and all directions but they appeared to only stem from one direction. Paul followed the splatters. He dragged his hand along the wall as he walked. It was cold, the wall. The air as well. The entire office was freezing._

_He rounded the corner and walked into the room that the splatters of blue was stemming from. Mr. Davidson’s office. The room was a mess, there was more blue on the walls and floor than anywhere else Paul had seen. The desk was knocked over and the chair thrown across the room. Papers were scattered and in the middle of the quiet chaos stood Mr. Davidson himself, back turned to Paul. In front of him laid Melissa, sprawled on the floor and choking on the blue._

_It was silent. Too silent. The world was put on mute, silent. Despite not making a sound, Mr. Davidson’s head jerked up like he had heard something. He turned to look at Paul. His boss’ eyes were a burning blue and the same blue from the wall coated his lips and dripped down his chin. He smiled at Paul. The silence was replaced by a singular, repeating sound. A slow and deliberate drum beat. Overwhelming. Paul realized at the same time that Mr. Davidson took a step forward that the drum was not, in fact, coming from the outside, but from within Paul’s own head. It reverberated in him, bouncing between his ears and behind his eyes._

_There was no escape from the drumming._

Paul shot awake. His breaths were short and labored as he clutched a hand to his chest. He could feel his heart pounding and his fist tighten around the fabric of his shirt. He sat like that for a minute longer before finally composing himself. He looked around the small, pitch black apartment bedroom. His breathing returned to normal. He reached over and grabbed his phone. Paul checked the time, 4:09am.


	2. Dreaming and Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Lex discuss weird dreams, Paul tries not to fall asleep at work, and Ethan tries to bring up something important with his dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit shorter than the first chapter but hey. it was fun writing this, a bit difficult at times as i tried to make it longer but its short and sweet and gets done what i need it to. enjoy!

Hannah was happy that their mother was out of the house that morning. She knew she wouldn’t be able to deal with her mom that morning. She stood in front of the mirror in the small bathroom, attempting to braid her hair. There was a soft knock on the half-closed door. Hannah said, “Come in,” and Lex pushed the door open the rest of the way.

“Morning, Hannah.”

“Good morning, Lexie.”

“Sleep well?”

Hannah shook her head, “Bad dreams.” She gave up on braiding her own hair and handed the hair ties to Lex who took them and started to braid Hannah’s hair for her.

“What about?”

“Webby. Warning me.”

“What’s Webby warning you about?”

“Wrong memories.”

“Hey, don’t gimme that face.” Hannah made eye contact with lex in the mirror, having not realized how worried she had looked, “It was only a dream, and hey,” she tied off the braids, “I had a wack dream too. I couldn’t fall asleep after I woke up, it was so weird. So we can be weird dream buddies together, right?”

Hannah tossed the braids over to the front of her shoulders, “Right.”

“Now,” Lex put her hands on Hannah’s shoulders, “how about we get you some breakfast and get you to school? We can treat ourselves and grab food on the way. How’s that sound?”

“Good!”

“Let me get ready and we’ll head out, huh?”

Hannah nodded and squeezed past Lex to get out of the bathroom, “Thanks, Lexie!” She left and grabbed her backpack from her and Lex’s shared room. She went to the small living room area, brushed a beer can off the couch, and took a seat as she waited.

_Hey Webby?_

_‘Yes, Hannah?’_

_What does ‘wrong memories’ mean?_

_‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you yet, Hannah.’_

_Why not?_

_‘It’s not clear yet. It’s not the time.’_

_What about the others? ‘Old friend’ ‘beacon’. What do those mean?_

_‘I can’t tell you, Hannah. I only hear rumors.’_

_But what-_

“Ready to go, Hann?” Lex walked out from the bathroom, now in her Toy Zone uniform. Hannah stood and picked up her bag, “Yup.”

“Perfect, let’s go,” Lex pulled her keys from her pocket and held the door for Hannah. Lex locked the door behind them.

_‘Don’t worry, Hannah. It will all be explained soon.’_

\---

“Hey, Paul, you look like shit this morning,” Emma said as he walked through the door to Beanie’s.

“Thanks, Emma,” he responded in a tired and sarcastic voice.

“What’s up with you?” She got started on making Paul his coffee.

Paul shrugged, “Had a weird ass dream last night. Some sort of weird blue shit was in the office. On the walls like blood splatters.”

“Huh, weird.”

“Yeah.” He got handed his coffee and gave Emma the money. She put the money in the register and he continued, “I think my boss killed his assistant in it.” His eyes were wider than normal as he stared blankly down at the counter. He shook his head and snapped himself out of his stupor, “Sorry, I’m just-” He didn’t know what he was going to say.

Emma cut in before Paul could struggle to finish his sentence with, “Try not to pass out today, okay?” She wore a mildly amused but mostly concerned smile.

“Will do, Em. See you later today.”

“See ya, Paul.”

As Paul left Beanie’s he passed a teen in some sort of red work uniform with a young girl at her side. He made his way to work and clocked in. Right on time as usual. As he made his way down the halls and past cubicles to his own, he noticed how he was watching the walls, checking for any sign of the blue. He shook his head and sat at his desk. Bill shuffled to his desk a moment later.

“Morning, Paul.”

“Good morning, Bill,” Paul glanced over, “You seem happy today.”

“Do I? Oh, I just had a really nice dream last night, Alice and I getting to spend a day together. I don’t know where we were supposed to be going because I woke up but it was nice after the scuffle of trying to call her, you know?”

Paul nodded and hummed in response. 

“What about you? You look, uh,” Bill started.

“Had a bizarre dream last night. It woke me up and kinda fucked up the rest of the night.”

“Oh… You know, I passed Mr. Davidson and he seems in a good mood, I’m sure you could ask to work from home today?”

Paul shrugged, “It’s fine, I’ll survive.”

And survive he did, around midday Paul’s energy picked up. At lunch he headed to Beanie’s as he normally did (alone this time, he thanked god Ted didn’t tag along again). As he walked through downtown Hatchetfield he noticed a strange feeling. In the pit of his stomach he felt a vague and directionless pull. He stopped walking for a brief moment. He felt the urge to move, not to walk but to _move_. He shook his head and continued walking. The feeling began to fade.

At Beanie’s, Emma was just finishing up with a customer when Paul walked in.

“I see you haven’t passed out yet,” Emma joked, leaning on the counter. Paul let out a chuckle and held his hands up in mock-surrender, “Guilty as charged.”

“Black coffee again?”

He gave a nod, “Black coffee again. So,” Emma got started on the coffee, “How’s the day been?”

“Eh,” Emma responded, “same old, same old. Had that one asshole come in again.”

“The guy from last week?”

“Yup,” she popped the ‘p’. “Oh! Got a call from Tom, by the way. Said he wants to have a kinda family dinner thing in like, a month. There’s no set date yet _but_ you’re invited and I already said we’re going. And you better go cause I am _not_ dealing with that on my own.”

“Wouldn’t dream of missing it,” Paul replied sarcastically. “Actually meeting your brother-in-law and not just saying hi before he leaves us to babysit would be nice though.”

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t dissolve into family drama right away.”

Emma handed Paul his coffee and he held it up slightly in a cheers, “Here’s to a functional family dinner.”

Emma smirked, “Yeah, cheers. Wanna place bets on how long it’ll take for Tim to let it slip that his dad didn’t want to do this?”

“Ha, I’m giving it a few hours. ‘m thinking about halfway through dinner.”

“Really? I’m saying an hour tops. Wanna put 20 bucks on it?”

Paul shrugged, “Why not.”

“I’ll text you once I get an exact date”

He nodded, “Thanks, and thanks for the coffee. Definitely a much needed pick-me-up.”

“Yeah yeah, anytime coffee boy.”

“See you tomorrow, Emma.”

Paul headed back to work, he didn’t notice the pull again.

\---

It was a warmer day than yesterday and being in the middle of working on fixing a car certainly added to the warmer day. It was an overall slow day, there was only one car in the shop, it was basically finished, and Ethan’s mind was generally elsewhere that day. He had been thinking over his conversation with Lex the day prior. They could be out by summer. Lex and Hannah could be out by summer. They’d be safe. There was only one thing to worry about. Okay, a lot of things to worry about, but one pressing matter, and that was Ethan’s dad.

Ethan liked his father, sure they had a few minor disagreements here and there but that was normal, it was barely worth taking note of. They were close enough and above all his dad was one thing, _understanding_. It wasn’t exactly a secret to Hatchetfield that Mr. Green had had some difficulty trying to raise Ethan on his own and as Ethan grew up, a strong understanding between them was vital.

“Hey, dad?” Ethan asked as he leaned against a workbench. Tony Green looked up to meet his son’s eyes, “yeah, bud? What’s up?”

Ethan opened his mouth to respond, but the words caught in his throat.

 _California_.

“Eh, nevermind, its nothin’.”

Tony nodded in response and went back to what he was doing.

He wasn’t worried about disappointing his dad, that wasn’t the right word, but he was worried about telling his dad. He wasn’t asking, he reminded himself, he was telling his dad their plan. That was how they worked. If Ethan had something planned out, and was clearly not about to get himself killed, Tony wouldn’t complain. He trusted his kid.

Ethan needed to believe he still would.

“Alright, Eth, I’ll finish this up, that lady from the other day asked to have someone drop off her car. She paid extra for it so take some money for the bus on the way back,” Tony tossed a car key to Ethan who caught it. “The address and everything is in the center console.”

“Got it, pops. See ya in a bit.” Ethan tossed the keys up and grabbed them from the air. He got in the car and looked over the address. He grumbled upon seeing the name but drove off anyway.

Half an hour later he pulled up to a house in a neighborhood that clearly wished it were a gated community. He parked and got out, taking the keys and the little paperwork with him up to the house. It was large and fancy and most definitely compensating for something.

He rang the doorbell. From inside he could hear a woman yelling, “No, I’m _telling_ you Gerald, you’re not-” the door opened and in front of him stood Linda Monroe. He internally cursed that she didn’t send someone else to answer the door. Her demeanor changed when she looked at him.

“Uh, hey, I’m here with your car.” He stuck a thumb out at the car sitting in the driveway behind him.

Linda shifted back to her normal attitude, “ _Finally!_ It took you long enough. I swear the only reason I drive to _that_ side of town and wait so long is because you two actually do a half decent job.”

“We’re also the only repair shop in town, ma’am.”

She ignored the sass in his voice in favor of once again appearing wary and confused.

“Uh,” Ethan started awkwardly, “You alright miss? Look like you’ve seen a ghost, heh.”

And once again, her face contorted to her usual, offended disposition, “Are you judging my appearance? You are _certainly_ one to talk, looking like th-”

He held his hands up in surrender, “No, no, I’m not, don't worry, just checking in. Well,” he held out the car keys and papers, “here’s everything you need. Call us if anything happens.”

He turned and walked away before she could respond, leaving Linda with her mouth half open to respond before she gave up and shut the door. He headed down the street to the nearest bus stop and got the bus back home to the shop.

As he sat on the bus he texted Lex, catching up on each other’s days.

_Ethan: u an hannah doing ok?_

_Lex: yup, normal day_

_Lex: hannah had a rough start, nightmare_

_Ethan: :(_

_Ethan: she tell u wat abt?_

_Lex: nah_

_Lex: doesnt seem too bad_

_Lex: prob not recurring thing_

_Ethan: aight lemme know if she needs anything_

_Lex: idk if thered be much to do abt nightmares but thx_

_Ethan: she could stay wth me if she needs_

_Ethan: might help ig idk_

_Lex: shit franks abt to yell at me to get off break_

_Lex: see ya later eth_

_Ethan: see ya lex_

He sat his phone down and leaned his head back, sighing as he did. By the time he got back home, his dad had finished working on the car he was working on earlier for the day and the two retired upstairs for the evening.


	3. Functionally Sleepwalking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul has another nightmare and Bill notices something off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even shorter chapter but the docs been sitting open for way too long unfinished. I'll make it up to y'all with the next chapter, promise.

_Mr. Davidson’s office. The blue was on the walls and the drumming was back but both Mr. Davidson and Melissa were nowhere to be seen. He took a step back, then found himself running. He didn’t know what he was running from or where he was running to. And then he heard it._ singing _. He heard_ singing _. It was a simple tune, repetitive, the type designed to get stuck in your head usually to sell you a product. Something told him that this song wasn’t designed, wasn’t written. It was_ born _. Bred for Paul’s own suffering._

_He barged through a door._

_Beanie’s._

_He was at Beanie’s._

_That was okay, Beanie’s was safe, Emma was at Beanie’s._

_Why was Emma asking his name?_

_He was screaming at her, grabbing her shoulders and screaming at her. Why would he do that? She had fear in her eyes. Emma had fear in her eyes. The fear was of him. Why would she be scared of him? He took a step back and took his hands from her shoulders, instead clutching them to his chest._

_Then there was a scream. Something shattered, a mug, he realized. People were on the ground, coughing._

_Coughing up the blue._

Paul shot up in his bed, covered in sweat and breaths quick and shallow. He looked at the clock, 4:09am. He didn’t go back to sleep.

\---

Bill pulled up to the CCRP office. It was a pleasant morning after a pleasant night. He strolled into work and said hi to Melissa as they passed each other. There was a small spring in his step as he walked to his desk. He took his seat and turned on his computer. He looked over to Paul’s cubicle to say good morning only to stop. Paul wasn’t there. A bit odd, not unheard of, but odd nonetheless. 

He got to work like normal, writing and filing reports. Nothing particularly interesting. Out of the corner of his eye Bill saw movement. He looked up instinctively and saw Paul shuffling in. He looked half awake and held a travel mug in one hand, his hair minorly unkempt.

“Paul?” Bill asked, “You okay?”

Paul looked up at Bill, “Yeah, yeah, just couldn’t fall asleep last night.” He sat at his desk.

“Is that it?”

Paul waved a hand in the air, “Yeah, weird dream, couldn’t fall asleep.” His words were slightly slurred but quick, as if he were trying to avoid talking about it more.

“Alright, but let me know if you want to talk, okay?”

Paul nodded. Bill found he needed to break the silence, “I had that dream again.”

Paul glanced over and raised an eyebrow.

“The one about me and Alice! About us finally getting to spend a day together. We went to that theme park in it. She was complaining about missing a party or something but,” he shrugged, “I miss getting to do that kind of stuff with her, you know?”

Paul nodded.

“It was nice.”

He nodded again. They fell back into silence. That silence stayed for the next few hours. Bill rotated between work and glancing worriedly at Paul. At half past noon, Bill noticed the time. He looked at Paul once before and sighed. He stood and said, “I’ll grab the coffee today, Paul.”

A moment later, Paul looked over and nodded, “Thanks, Bill.”

“Of course, Paul.”

And so he began his walk to Beanie’s. Any other day Bill would’ve headed to the Starbucks down the street, but he felt that talking to Emma right then was more important than actually good coffee. As he had the feeling of being watched. He picked up his pace, not wishing to keep that feeling of paranoia.

He entered Beanie’s, and he did have to admit that the atmosphere was much nicer than the one at the Starbucks. The baristas weren’t particularly nice, even aside from Emma the others were kind of bitchy, but Bill did have to admit that it all felt a bit more real, more tangible, than the Starbucks did. He walked up to the counter where one of the other baristas was working, and ordered for him and Paul.

“Hey, uh, is Emma back there?” he asked. The barista gave a quick eye roll and a “yeah” before she went and grabbed Emma from the back room. Emma came out, clearly having been expecting Paul to be there. Her face dropped to one of concern. She walked up to the counter, “Hey, uh, Bill, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, well first I’d like to get Paul’s black coffee, nothing for me today, and then I wanted to talk to you quickly. Is that alright?”

She looked briefly shocked and then responded, “Yup, that’s fine. So uh, what’s up?” She started making the coffee.

“It’s Paul, I’m just worried about him.”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to him?” She sounded panicked.

“No, no, nothing like that, he just hasn’t slept well the past two days, and today he walked in looking half dead, said he couldn’t fall back asleep. Could you just check up on him for me? I would but I don’t want to cross a line.”

“Yeah, I get it. I will, Bill, don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Emma. I’m just worried about him, I think some stress might be getting to him. It’s probably nothing but,” he shrugged, “I’m a natural worrier. Parental instincts, you know?”

“Yup,” she handed him the coffee and he paid for it, “I’ll keep an eye on Paul, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, Emma.” Bill headed back to the office, his anxieties slightly alleviated by Emma.

\---

Paul walked home at the end of the day. He knew better than to drive after a night of very little sleep and so that morning he had decided to walk to work. As he was walking he suddenly stopped. The feeling in the pit of his stomach was back. He looked around and realized he stopped in the same place he had the day prior. Yet again, he felt the need to move. He forced himself to keep walking back to his apartment and ignore the feeling. Walking didn’t seem to lessen the need to move.

He continued his walk home.


	4. Two Riders Approaching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul needs to get rid of his migraine and Hannah needs to enjoy nature more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back!! Sorry this took so long, writers block hit me like a brick wall. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and happy almost done with this hell year to everyone!!

The next few weeks had passed agonizingly slow for Paul. His nightmares had continued and while the memories were scattered he knew that at some point in the dreams he and Emma had left Beanie’s, had a weird run in with Charlotte’s husband, and over all he remembered a lot of _blue_. While he had been able to start getting a decent amount of sleep each night his sleeplessness had been replaced by a near constant headache. The type of headache that doesn’t incapacitate you but instead keeps you just aware enough to make you lose focus. 

And it was hell on Earth.

The only relief Paul seemed able to get was luckily, on his way to work. He had realized when one day, about two weeks ago, he had gone to get coffee from Beanie’s. The same spot that the _feeling_ he had been getting was strongest was where the headache seemed to lessen. Not fully subside, just lessen. He found himself pausing at the spot every day as he walked to and from the office, home, or Beanie’s.

Which is where Paul stood on his way to Beanie’s on a Saturday afternoon. He took a minute to just breathe. He stood and was only forced back into reality by someone bumping into him as they walked and mumbled, “Move it asshole,” under their breath.

Paul shook his head to clear it and checked the time on his phone, right before noon, right before the midday rush at Beanie’s. He kept walking. Once reaching Beanie’s, Paul pushed open the door and went to the counter where Emma stood alone. They locked eyes and Emma let herself smile, “Hey, Paul, how’s the apartment treating you?”

“Much more cluttered thanks to you.”

“I didn’t think I had that much shit,” she said in defense and started to make Paul’s coffee.

“It’s mostly the boxes themselves, from the little unpacked it seems like you’re right about not having a lot of shit. How much do you still have at your old place?”

Emma shrugged, “Another trip or two probably. I’ll be moved out by next week. And finally out of that shithole, thank god.”

Paul let out a small chuckle, “Did you even have heating half the time?”

“Considering I actually paid the bills, you’d think I would, right?” she handed over the cup, “But no, and no matter how much I complained the landlord wouldn’t do shit. But,” she held her hands up in mock prayer, “I won’t have to deal with him again.”

Paul lifted his cup and said a quick, “I’ll drink to that.”

“Oh right!” Emma snapped her hand into a finger gun pointed at Paul, “Tom called again, family dinner next Sunday at six.”

He nodded, “Sounds perfect.”

“And don’t forget, 20 bucks on Tim accidently saying Tom didn’t want to do this an hour in.”

“Couldn’t forget it if I wanted to.”

“Alright, get out of here you dork, I don’t want to get yelled at again for ignoring customers.”

He smiled, “See ya later, Emma.”

“Bye, Paul.”

He left, holding the door open for a man going into the store before letting the door swing shut behind him. He walked back to the spot between work, home, and Beanie’s where the migraine lessened once more.

\---

It was a good day, Hannah had decided, as she sat against a tree just outside the RV.

_So that’s why I’m excited for the next book to come out!_

_‘It sounds like quite the cliffhanger.’_

_It is! I just really hope he doesn’t die. Do you think he’s gonna die, Webby?_

A moment a silence passed.

_‘No, I don’t think he will.’_

Hannah nodded with a smile.

_Good._

_‘Hannah, why don’t you go for a walk today? It’s rather lovely out. By the time you get home Lex should be on her lunch break then you can go and say hi.’_

Hannah knew when Webby was trying to get her to do something important but didn’t want to worry her, her tone always changed and she’d suggest that Hannah does random things. So Hannah agreed. She stood and stretched before starting to walk along the tree line. Webby went silent then, though not in a concerning way, more in the way an old friend will run out of conversation topics.

She kept walking, eventually, Webby spoke up again.

_‘Head that way, I think there are some flowers along the path.’_

Hannah followed her lead. Webby was right about the flowers, there was a lovely little patch along the path in the woods. She started to count the flowers, noting around twelve blue, fifteen yellow, seven pink, nine purple, a handful of nearly white flowers, and clovers scattered about before she gave up on keeping track as the flower patch continued. She started to hum to herself, a fairly simple tune. 

She eventually started to mumble along to herself, “There must be some way outta here…”

_‘Where did you hear that, Hannah?’_

She shrugged.

_Heard it on the radio, I think._

“Said the joker to the thief…”

_‘Have you been thinking about what I said? About wrong memories?’_

_Sometimes._

“There’s too much confusion…”

_‘Beacon?’_

She shrugged, “I can’t get no relief…”

She kept walking, eventually coming to a clearing just beyond a line of bushes.

\---

Paul found himself following the feeling of the lessening headache as he wandered through Hatchetfield. It was a nice day other than the headache and a part of Paul wished he was able to enjoy the slight breeze and calm atmosphere but as he was walking he felt the pull again. The urge to move from weeks ago returned with a fury and he has to stop himself from sprinting through town. He walked, _marched_ , really.

Right, left, right, left.

His headache worsened.

Right, left, right, left.

He couldn’t stop himself, the direction he was moving felt _right_ despite the headache.

Right, left.

His head was pounding.

Right, left, right.

His heart was racing and it wasn’t until a minute later that he realized it's because he started running.

Left, right.

He did something he never had before and hummed to himself.

Left, right, left.

Underneath his feet, the thudding sound of running on concrete switched to the crunch of leaves and dirt. Paul stopped running. He stared at the Witchwood, trees silhouetted by the afternoon sun and branches curling together to almost form a gateway. Welcoming yet foreboding.

He started to walk again.

Right, left, right, left.

He continued to hum and he strolled on the small dirt path. The sun poked through the brush.

Right, left.

The song he was humming came to the end as he reached a clearing. He softly spoke the final lines as he drew near, “Two riders were approaching, and the wing began to howl..”

The feeling and the headache was finally gone.

The clearing was small, only about enough space to fit ten people or so. It seemed like a nice place to have a bookclub if you liked sitting in nature. Overall it was nice, a strange place to sprint to in the middle of the day, but nice. Paul let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

And then a young girl fell through a bush.

\---

Hannah stared up at the lanky man before her. Any thoughts of the leaves and sticks now stuck in her hair left her mind as Webby spoke to her. Two short words which Hannah repeated as she looked up with wide eyes, “The bard.”


End file.
